Baseboard heater



May 5, 1964 P. u

BASEBOARD HEATER Filed March 2, 1961 INVENTOR ERNST P. LAUG A7TOWEY United States Patent 3,132,230 I BASEBOARD HEATER The present invention relates to electric baseboard heaters and more particularly to the construction thereof.

In the application of baseboard heating generally, a source of heat is mounted near the floor of the room to heat .a flow of air which will traverse the room being heated. The heat generated must be dispersed so that a large quantity of air may be contacted to effect sufiicient heat output. The heat source must be physically isolated from contact with flammable articles which may casually or accidentally be placed close to it. The outer structure performing this. isolation must be so shaped that a constant flow of air past the heat source is virtually assured without the possibility of accidental blockage. Further by the imposition of codes and standards, it is considerednecessary that thepassage or tunnel housing the cables used for energizing the heat source should be physic ally isolated from the heat source through the medium of a continuous non-flammable enclosure. The invention herein lies in a simple construction which satisfies Patented May 5, 19 64 By the use of this construction, the mainstructure and heater mounted thereon may be installed against the building wall at an appropriate height above the floor, following which the cable may be laid in place in the unencumbered wireway. To provide a closed cable runway, a cable cover which extends the length of the section is removably mounted to suitable supports along the near panel. This cable cover when installed, serves to cover the area between the rear panel and the abbreviated front wall of the section, and yet the cable runway may be inspected at any time by removal of the screw fastenings by which the cable runway cover is mounted. Means along the front of this cable cover provide for the securement of a front appearance panel. The front panel is installed by hooking its upper edge over suitable brackets extending from the rear panel. The lowerlportion of the appearance panel is in covering relation witlrthe front of the curved bottom portion of the rear panel and an upwardly extending portion of the cable runway cover, to

which it may be aflixed by sheet metal screws or the like. Thus, if by some accident the cable runwaycover has not been secured in place, the front panel cannot be mounted in place. The front panel includes a protuberant the conditions listed above in a most satisfactory manner. It is therefore an object of the invention toprovide a board heater. having a cable enclosure in combination withme'ans insuring that the cable enclosure is properly placeisolating'the energizing conductors from the heat source. i

It is afurtl eriobject of the invention to provide a baseboard heater whose outer covering cannot be installed and secured in place before the cableenclosure is mounted into the structure. 7 I

It is a major featureof the invention to provide an improved baseboard heater which satisfies the requirements imposed by construction codes and sound engineeringpractice in a novel manner.

To satisfy these objects and requirements the present invention employs a baseboard heating, structure of the sectional type in; which the units are fitted in serially related fashion, the sections comprising individual heater unit sections, receptacle sections, thermostat sections and the like. tionincludes a horizontally extending main structure substantially J-shaped in cross-section} The rear panel of said structure isadapted to be mounted against the wall of theroom to be heated; The curved bottom portion of the structure projects outwardly and upwardly. Spaced forwardly of the rear panel is a laterally extending heat source which may take the form of a sheathed resistance heater. Extending vertically from the heat source are mid-section with a plurality of spaced air intake and exhaust apertures at the bottom and top of the protuberance to allow a flow of airover and about the heating unit. The'air intake apertures are in a wallportion which ex tends upwardly and outwardly from above the wireway, thus placing the apertures substantially above. the floor line, or the surface of a carpeted floor. The air exhaust passages are in a wall portion which extends upwardly and inwardly below a top cover portionof the main structure. It will be seen, therefore, that it will be armed ingly difficult for alien objects such as rugs, blankets and the like to block the air intake to the heater or to. intrude into the heater structure,.and 'equallyunlikely that the discharge passages could be covered.

The invention both as to its organization and principle of operation together with further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view'of a baseboard heating unit employing my invention;

Pursuant totthe invention, a heating unit seca plurality of heat transmitting fins which are longitu- V clin'ally fluted to provide a maximum of air'contact surfaces. ,7

The curved bottom portion of the main structure extends horizontally alongthe entire extent of the section and further provides. a'horizontally coextensive abbrevi- I,

atecl front wall. "The bottom portion ofthe structure and the lower portion of the rear panel comprise an .opentopped cable runway tunnel orw ireway for accommodating within the'structure the energizing wires or cables.

construction of the baseboard heater 10, the component elements of which are best seen in FIG. 2 and most readily explained in the order and manner of assembly of the unit. The main structural element 12.is adapted to fit andbe mounted to the adjacent wall 14 of the room tobe heated at a position a short distance above the room floor 16. This structure is secured to the wall by any generally known expedient methods such as suitable screws 18 aligned horizontally along the length'of the panel. The structure includes a generally imperforate rear wall 20, a forwardly extending roof plate 22 and a forwardly extending bottom wall formation 24. The supporting structure 12 may optimally be configurated from a strip of sheet metal into a three sided rectangular shape been inculcated into baseboard heaters.

. I I with open ends. Within this general shapethe forwardly extending roof plate 22 has inturned flanges to aid in the further mounting of components.

This horizontally elongated open rectangular structure extends horizontally along the wall of a room, and according to the room length, heating requirements, etc. a number of structures or sections may be serially assembled with appropriateelectrical connectionboxes or the like arranged therebetween toaccommodateelectrical outlets, thermostats and the like. By this form of construction which is generally known, a continuous heater may be formed with all the necessary appurtenances which have This mode of including an elongated heater section spaced from the next heater section by connection boxes, thermostats and the like which are finished to give a continuous appearance to theentire heater is well known in the art and hence have not been'shown.

Within the open horizontally elongate cavity formed by the forwardly extending roof and wall 22 and: 24 respectively, there are afi'ixed to rear wall 20, a number of brackets or fingers extending within the cavity to'serve' a number of purposes. A first series of these brackets 26 is secured to the rear panel a few inches above the wall 24. Brackets 26 are advantageously in'the shape of a" reclining U with one leg 28 thereof secured to the rear support a front appearance wall as later described.

Further within the cavity at either longitudinal end,

method of accomplishing this result'is indicated herein in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4 is shown one half of an end cap 50 in which the connection of the heating conductor to the intermediate'connecting Wires 'is made. Each end cap 50 is formed of two half sections 52 preferably molded of suitable insulating and refractory material. Each-half section 52 includes a hollowed out central core 54'and I grooves entering the core which match the circularity of the sheath 42 and connecting conductors 56 respectively. By these matching relationships of groove to sheath and cable, the end cap may be held firmly by the rigid sheath without the necessity of alfixation to arwall or other support. As is usual, the resistance conductor has aflixed thereto and'extending coaxially from the sheath a rigid conductor 58 to which a conductive tab 60 is secured. A terminal 62 is secured to the conductor 56 of the cable and by means of a screw or the like, the terminal is affixed to the tab to provide a conductive path therethrough. The other half section of the end cap is placed against sec: tion 52 and suitable snap rings may be fitted into peripheral grooves 64.

Continuing further in the construction features of the V invention, there is provided a cable runway 66 along the panel in any suitable manner as by welding or brazing. Brackets such .as 30will be spaced along the length of the heater immediately below the roof plate. These help there are provided L-shaped brackets 32 which are used to isolate areas for the connection of the energizing conductors to conductors leading to an alternating current source. One leg 34 of the L bracket is secured to the rear 7 wall 20 and the other leg 36 extends rectilinearly vertically from the rear wall to shield the cable connection area 7 from emitted radiant energy. Suitable knockout plugs 38 are provided'in rear wall 20 and bracket leg 34 to allow power supply cables to enter the structure within the shielded area. J

Further there are secured ,to the rear wall intermediately within the cavity of the heater, spaced brackets 39 to which are secured the finned heating element structures 40. These elements each comprise a horizontally extending sheathed heating element 'which may comprise a helical resistance conductor housed in a rigid-metallic sheath 42. The resistance conductor is insulated from the sheath and spaced therefrom by a highly compacted mass of suitable heat conducting and electrically insulating material such as powdered magnesiumoxide'. In.

, he an entire heating element.

floor and front wall 24 for accommodating cable runs and control conductors from the various heating unit sections along a wall or walls of a room. in is prescribed by rnany fireprevention codes, that both connecting conductors for a single resistance heating element bev connected to source conductons within a single shielded connecting area. Thus one insulated conductor must under- The codes further insist that this underlying conductor be shielded from the radiant energy generated by the heating element 40.. The insulated cables 70 which may include conductors such as 5 6 for supplying current to the successive heating elements are laid into the runway below the finned heateras can be seen best in FIG. 2. Once the cables have been laid V in place the cable'hood or cover may beinstal-led. The

cable runway cover 72 is substantially L-sharped in crosssection and from front to rear tends to cover virtually the entire runway while longitudinally extending beneath the entire length of the finned heat element 40. The cover this way the rigid sheath forms a satisfactory support for the resistance element. Secured about the sheath are the heat transferringfins 44. The fins may be rolled from tends forwardly (as viewed in FIG. 2) of the finger and semicylindrical mid-sections 45 fit snugly about the sheath in'good heat transfer engagement therewith. These fins may be mutually and permanently secured about a heating elementby the imposition of rivets, staples or other suitable assemblyagents. A highly effective heat transfer surface. maylbe effected by'providing each fin above and below the mid-section with a plurality of regular, fluted'sectio'ns 46 "as can best be seen in FIGS, 1 and 2'. The fluted sections provide a wide span of heat transfer area, and the corresponding section of each fin as it nears the sheath area has slots 47 to allow air currents to contact all surfaces of the fins. ,A' second. set of horizontally disposed slots 48 is spaced on the fin above and below midasection 45 to allow for lateral'expansion and movement of thefin with respect to the mounting structure.

port the'heaters against support 3:9.

'At the lateral ends of each sheath, the resistance conductorsrnust be connected to a current source; A simple includes art its rear step brackets 74 which mount bysuitable screws to U-shaped bracket 28. Thus it can be seen that the cable runway cover mounts toappendagesof the rear wall 20. With cable runway cover 72 secured in place, cables in the runway are shielded from radiation and'convection currents transmitted by the finned heater. As mounted to brackets 74 the runway cover -72 includes a vertical flange 76 extending vertically along the front of the baseboard heaterqand extending above the upwardly directed flange 78 of front wall plate 24.

The baseboard heater is now ready to have the'front panel 80 mounted thereto. The front cover includes at its upper edge a lip 82 shaped to fit closely over a matching protuberance 84 of finger 30'. The front panel exprotrudeslpast the forward edge ofroof plate 22 while spaced from the roof plate vertically and obliquely; the spacing between the front panel and the roof plate increasing as the distance from the rear panel increases. The

front panel then flows into an'inwar'dly directed oblique section 86 and terminates in a downwardly directed flange 88. The front panel mounts to the previously assembled structure first by the fit oflip 82 about protubenance .84. To firmly securethe front panel in place, suitable screws 90 which may be self-tapping are mounted andsecured into mating holes 92 inthe vertical riser flange 76 of cable runway cover 72. By method of securing the front panel to the runway cover, it'can readily be seen a that if the cable runway cover 'were inadvertently omitted,

the front panel could not be secured to, the assembly. This construction insures that the cable runway cover is always in place protecting the cable when the front panel of the baseboard heater is secured in place.

To transmit the heat generated'by the finned heaters such as 100 may be mounted. These end plates have the shape necessary to cover the entire end of a heater section. Where heater sections arefto be directly abutted against one another, "a'single end platemay be used to cover the line of joinder of one section to another as shown in FIG. 3. i

For electrical connections, the conductors leading to a heating element may be connected to the conductors leading a 236 volt A.C. source by any suitably safe connecting method such as terminals, wire nuts or the like. These connections should be made in the areas set out by shielding-brackets 32 for each heating section. Suitable ground connections such as that shown representatively as 102 are used to commonly ground contiguous structures in a generally known fashion to end plate 100.

It is well known in the art that circulation must be maintained past the heating unit to allow the radiated heat to escape to the ambient room to first heat the room and secondly to keep the resistance heater from overheating. There can be caused considerable trouble with baseboard heating if carpets or other blocking surfaces are placed in such a way that the air inlet to the heater is blocked. The temperature of the heater would then soar to a point at which a cut-off thermostat will operate to shut off the current to the heater. The present construction as can best be seen'in FIGS. 1 and 2 is designed to alleviate this difliculty. First, it can be seen that the inlet apentures 94 are inclined to the horizontal and that surface 86 containing these apertures'is inclined to the horizontal. With this construction, possible interruption of air flow is in that objects of nominal height placed against the outer body of the heating structure must closely conform to the shape of the oblique surface to completely block the air input to the heater. touching only the lower edge of the protuberant front panel cannot completely block air intake to the heater and the heater receives sufiicient circulating air to inhibit dangerous temperature rise. 'Further by the use of individual (apertures rather than a completely open section, foreign objects cannot readily penetrate the interior of the heater to reach the proximity of the heating element. With open bottomed heaters, careless handling of objects in the vicinity of the heater conceivably could constitute a serious fire hazard. Naturally, the present heater would employ such safety devices as safety thermostats (not shown) and the like although their use would be strictly as a protection against malfunctioning of the unit.

While there has been described what is at present thought to [be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that it is my intent to cover in the appended claims all modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. An electricspace heater comprising a support structure including a rear panel for mounting said structure to a Wall, a source of radiant energy mounted to said rear panel, a cable runway positioned beneath said energy source and at least coextensive therewith, electrical cables positioned within said runway for connecting to and supplying said radiant energy source with electrical current, means for conductively spreading said radiated energy. for convective heat transfer, a radiant and convective heat shield mounted to said rear panel and interposed between said energy source and said runway for the horizontal extent of said runway, means for mounting said heat shield to said rear wall independently of said energy source mount, said mounting means allow- 6 ingready detachment of said heat. shield alone whereby to provide open access to said cable runway, a front panel for said heater, means for mounting said frontpanel to said radiant shield whereby said shield must be positioned covering said runway before said front panel can be mounted thereto, said front panel configured to remain spaced away from said energy source and saidrear panel, a flange pendant from said front panel further covering and isolating said cable runway from the ambient sur-. roundings, and means for channeling air flow between said panels and past said energy source and said energyspreading means to generate flow of heated air for circulation to the ambient surroundings.

2. An electric space heater comprising: a rear panel adapted to be secured to an upstandingwall of an enclosure; an electric resistance heating element mounted on said rear panel in parallel spaced relation thereto; means integral with said rear panel to provide a cable runway openly facing said heating element in spaced coextensive relation therewith, said runway being arranged to accommodate electrical conductors for connectingsaid heating element to electric power; a longitudinally extending heat shield arranged to cover said runway to shield the interior thereof against radiation from said heating element; means for removably securing said heat shield to said rear panel; a front panel having upper and lower wall portions extending toward said rear panel; bracket means extending from said rear panel forwardly of said heating element for engagement with said front panel to suspend the same forwardly of said heating element; and wall means on said heat shield extending upwardly behind said front panel for the reception of attachment devices extending from said front panel to immobilize said front panel relative to said heating element; said upper and lower wall portions of said front panel being,

perforated to accommodate air flow over said heating element.

3. An electric space heater comprising a support structure, a rear mounting wall, a heating element secured to said rear wall, a cable runway positioned beneath said heating element, a cover for shielding said runway from radiant heat generated by said heating element, means for mounting said cover to said rear wall independently of said heating element securing means, said cover mounting allowing removal of said cover independently of said heating element, a front panel having perforated upper and lower wall portions, means extending from said rear wall for supporting said front panel spaced forwardly of said heating element and with the said front panel .upper and lower'wall portions in front of and respectively above and below said heating element, and means extending between said cover and said front panel for securing said front panel thereto, whereby air flow through said front panel perforated wall portions will be in heat exchange relation to said heating element for heating the space about said heater.

4. An electric baseboard heater comprising a horizontally elongated structure including a rear wall having structure providing along its base and upwardly facing conductor channel, a heating unit extending horizontally along said rear wall immediately above said upwardly facing channel, said heating unit comprising a sheathed resistance heating element extending virtually the entire horizontal extent of said heater, a plurality of fins mounted in conductive heat relation with said sheath and coextensive therewith, each of said fins extending vertically and outwardly from a mutual connection adjacent said sheath to a spaced-apart terminal end parallel to said heating unit, a plurality of slots in each of said fins to allow convective air currents to pass therebetween, a front wall on said structure, means extending from said rear wall for suspending said front wall spaced forwardly of said heating unit and the frontmost one of said fins, a first set of apertures in said front wall, said line of apertures aligned obliquely adjacent and below the spacedapart lower terminal ends of said fins to provide inlet passages for convective air currents to bothsaid fins, a plurality of obliquely positioned exhaust apertures in said frontwall'above the top terminal ends of said fins to pass heated air to the surrounding room, a conductorchannel cover plate removably secured tosaid rear wall below said heating elementand means extending only be- 7 tween said ,front wall and said cover plate for completing the securernent of said front wall relative to'said heating element.

5. In aheater as claimed in claim 4, said fins each configured into aplurality of grooves and ribs mutually parallel and parallel to said heating unit to provide an even heat distribution toward the terminal ends'of said fins, said ribs and grooves forming a large area surface for convection of heat to the passing air currents.

References Cited in the file of this patent 1;

UNITED STATES PATENTS (Addition to Patent No, 695,636) 

1. AN ELECTRIC SPACE HEATER COMPRISING A SUPPORT STRUCTURE INCLUDING A REAR PANEL FOR MOUNTING SAID STRUCTURE TO A WALL, A SOURCE OF RADIANT ENERGY MOUNTED TO SAID REAR PANEL, A CABLE RUNWAY POSITIONED BENEATH SAID ENERGY SOURCE AND AT LEAST COEXTENSIVE THEREWITH, ELECTRICAL CABLES POSITIONED WITHIN SAID RUNWAY FOR CONNECTING TO AND SUPPLYING SAID RADIANT ENERGY SOURCE WITH ELECTRICAL CURRENT, MEANS FOR CONDUCTIVELY SPREADING SAID RADIATED ENERGY FOR CONVECTIVE HEAT TRANSFER, A RADIANT AND CONVECTIVE HEAT SHIELD MOUNTED TO SAID REAR PANEL AND INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID ENERGY SOURCE AND SAID RUNWAY FOR THE HORIZONTAL EXTENT OF SAID RUNWAY, MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID HEAT SHEILD TO REAR WALL INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID ENERGY SOURCE MOUNT, SAID MOUNTING MEANS ALLOWING READY DETACHMENT OF SAID HEAT SHIELD ALONE WHEREBY TO PROVIDE OPEN ACCESS TO SAID CABLE RUNWAY, A FRONT PANEL FOR SAID HEATER, MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID FRONT PANEL TO SAID RADIANT SHIELD WHEREBY SAID SHIELD MUST BE POSITIONED COVERING SAID RUNWAY BEFORE SAID FRONT PANEL CAN BE MOUNTED THERETO, SAID FRONT PANEL CONFIGURED TO REMAIN 